Tony Blair Visits the "Late Show"
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has kept busy in the two years since he's left office.
On Tuesday evening, Blair spoke to "Late Show" host David Letterman about his current projects and shared his opinions on foreign affairs, including the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the necessity of peace in the Middle East.
Blair, who entered office in 1997 and served as prime minister for 10 years, told Letterman that, in his opinion, the world is safer with Saddam Hussein out of power and that terrorism is a worldwide "menace" that must be stopped.
"These people are going to fight us very hard, indeed. And the real reason it's been difficult in Iraq and is difficult now in Afghanistan is that they are determined by terrorism, and that's how they act - to thwart the wishes of the people there, because both sets of peoples have voted to have a democracy," he said. "And if we don't stand up to them, and recognize that the only way of defeating them is to show greater conviction and determination than them, then I'm afraid we will repeat the mistakes of the past."
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, he continued, "It was right that my country stood side by side, shoulder to shoulder with America. I thought that then, I think that now and I think that both our countries together have got to unite in order to defeat this menace. And it is a menace, and it's not confined, I'm afraid, to Iraq or Afghanistan. It's worldwide, it's real, and it's got to be defeated."
He also compared the reaction to Scotland's recent release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and relations with Libya to his experiences negotiating peace in Northern Ireland during his tenure as prime minister.
During those negotiations, he said, "I think the hardest thing I ever did was sit down with the families of the victims of IRA terrorism. And they were good, decent people, and they'd say to me 'How can you sit in the same room with the people responsible for killing my son or my daughter?,' and my answer to that was because I believe if they are prepared to change we can save lives and make peace in the future."
But, he added, "It's an incredibly difficult argument to make to anyone who's actually suffered a loss from terrorism."
Along with discussions of peace negotiations and Middle Eastern conflicts, the two also talked about noticing how his life changed after becoming a private citizen - he got his first cell phone the day after he stepped down - and an interesting record he now holds: he's the first prime minister in 150 years to have a legitimate child while in office.
"Kind of makes you wonder what the other prime ministers were doing," Blair said, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Two years after stepping down, he is now pushing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians - something he believes is "the single most fundamental thing in changing the dynamic" of the Middle East - and is starting his second year teaching at Yale University. He also talked about his faith foundation, a program at Yale that focuses on bringing people of different religions together.
And while he occasionally misses being in office, he is enjoying the new roles he's now able to take on.
"The great thing about ceasing to be in office is you chose your entry," he said. "When you're prime minister, it's whatever comes in. A British prime minister was once asked what the most difficult thing about government, he said 'Events, dear boy. Events.' And when you're actually out of office, you can concentrate on a few things."
By Jessica Derschowitz